The Emporia weekly news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1881-1889, 1887-02-24
THE "PHrLADELpH1A plans,


recommended to our city council and
our citizens generally plan for the
REMEMBERING of all houses and vacant
spaces on all the streets and avenues
of our city, as is required by the postal
regulations previous to putting in
free delivery. A few days after this
publication Mr.. Strivers, of the post
Office department, arrived in our city
and recommended the same plan THE
NEWS had already spoken of. AS this
recommendation will probably be
adopted by our city fathers, because it
is the latest and best, we will try to
give our readery pen picture of the
play and how it works:
The Philadelphia plan" as it is
called, which has been adopted in
nearly every city of any pretention to
metropolitan proportions in our coun-
try, is to let every % feet fronting
on every street, and every % feet 'front.'
ing on every avenue, be represented
by single number; let the first 25 feet
OH the corner of every block begin
with an odd or even hundred; let each
hundred on each block on the streets
correspond with the number of the
avenue Oh which it starts, so all num-
nues will be 900 OF over; all between
Seventh and Eighth will be 700 or over,
and so on, all even Numbers on east
side of streets and all odd numbers on
west side. By this method every num-
Der on the northeast corner of Com
mercial street and Fifth avenue would
have to be 500; on Sixth avenue 600,
and so on.
On the avenues the same plan will
be used, only each avenue will be di-
vided into East or West Sixth or Fifth
avenue, as it may be, Commercial
street to be the dividing line, and the
numbering to commence there, east
and west. West Sixth avenue will be
all that portion west of Commercial
street, and east Sixth avenue will be
all that portion east of Commercial
street. Odd numbers to be on north
side and even numbers on south side
of avenues.
Each % feet on the avenues will
count one number, and as the lots are
100 feet in depth, we believe, let the 80
feet on each side of the alley count as
a number each, all numbers to COM
mence with No. l on northeast and
northwest corners of Commercial street
and the avenues, and run east and
| west. For instance we will start at
the First National bank, corner of
Commercial street and Sixth avenue.
Its numbers ON the avenue would be
Nos. 2, 4 and west Sixth avenue;
Messrs. Holmes & Holden would be
No. 8, and the express Office No. 10,
and so on to the end of the block.
The next block west, across Mer-
| chants street, would commence with
100, 102, 104, and so on, one number
for each % feet; the odd numbers across
the avenue where the Coolidge stands,
the hotel numbers being 1O1, 1O3, 1O5
1O7 and 100 west Sixth avenue, and
Sol, SOB, Cos, 607 and 500 Merchants
street.
The next block west, across Consti.
tuition, would begin with 200, Congress
with 800, State 400, and so on. On the
east side the same plan would be pur.
sued. The numbers commenc
ing at Commercial with No
l east Sixth avenue, and
on Mechanics with 100, east Sixth av.
enue; Market with 200, Union with 300
Exchange 400, and SO on. 1t will be
seen. that by this method the avenue
number of the First National bank
and the Savings bank, just across the
street, would be the same, except that
the First National would be Nos. 2, 4
and West Sixth avenue, while the
Savings bank would be Nos. ,, and
6 East Sixth avenue. But in this, as
bers occur, one would not be used
But the others could be used for the
city library, offices, ETC., up stairs.
BY this method it will be seen that
every corner lot on every street would
have two numbers, one on the street and
one Oh the avenue. Take for instance
Jones & Edwards store, corner of
Fifth avenue and Commercial street.
Their number would be sol CONNER
cial, and their side entrance on Fifth
avenue would be ) west Fifth aven-
ue-or, if they wanted to count from
the corner, their numbers would be
3 and 5 west Fifth avenue.
OF course in instances like the above
where there is no business front on the
avenue, and where no letters would be
addressed, it would be as unnecessary
to put numbers up as it would on va
cant lots, unless business man wished
to parade the numbers in his adver-
tisement. But where families live up
stairs, as in Jays opera house, the
number would have to go over the hall
probably be ), as that number would
not be used for another purpose; or if
it was, the number could be 81.
By this method every number ON
every street or avenue would be the
same as the one in the same situation
on the next street or avenue, through
out the entire city and even out into
the suburbs. For instance, all num-
bers between any two avenues would,
if on the east side. have to be an even
number more than the hundred cor
! responding to the number of the ave
nue.. To illustrate. say the fourth
house north of Tenth ave-
nue. OH the east side of
any street would of necessity have to
be 1905 on every street in the city, as
the first number on each southeast
street corner of Tenth avenue would
have to be 1000.
simple with the exception that we
would not have numbers but names, on
the streets to guide us. But by recol-
lecting that each block east or west of